and was accepted because it was an honorary one to which no salary was attached, and in which he could serve the public without the charge of personal motives. In the fall of the year he was summoned west by reason of labor troubles along the line, and gave several weeks to a careful and proper settlement of the questions in issue, in connection with the other directors of the road.

The best estimate of a man's powers and qualities can be found in the work he has done, and in the repute in which he is held by those who know him well. Judged by these standards, Mr. Hanna must be set down as a business man who has commanded the highest success before reaching the years of his prime, and as a recognized financial and personal force in this community. His capacity for work is immense. His in dustry and energy are qualities suggested in his tone and bearing. His honesty and honorable methods of business have never been questioned, and the moment he becomes connected with an enterprise it can command all the capital it needs. His word is, according to the old saying, as good as any man's bond, and when he outlines a course of policy or conduct, his associates and employés understand that he means what he says and will stand by it. Personally he is pleasant and sociable in disposition, is open to the approach of any one, and all in all is a fine and robust representative of the younger business men of America.

P. M. SPENCER.

Among the younger bankers of Cleve

land who have made a creditable record of labor and success, Mr. P. M. Spencer, cashier of the Cleveland National bank, occupies a leading place. He has won his way by hard work and natural ability, beginning at the very foot of the ladder and gaining ground inch by inch from messenger to his present position. He was born at Fort Ann, Washington county, New York, on March 1, 1844, of excellent parentage, and of Puritan descent. His parents are Lyman and Phoebe Spencer, his mother having been a Kingsley, whose lineage could be traced back to Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer. His grandfather, on the parental side, served as a volunteer captain in the war of 1812, and was a descendant of a pioneer New Englander, who either came over in the Mayflower or in some vessel soon following her. The subject of this sketch, like so many of the successful business. and professional men of this city, was raised on his father's farm, attending district school and a local academy. At the age of seventeen his young heart became fired by the patriotic calls for men, and laying aside his school books he shouldered a musket and marched off to the war. He was a member of company D, in the One Hundred and TwentyThird New York infantry, and his enlistment occurred on August 11, 1861. He remained with his regiment, as a part of the Army of the Potomac, until November of 1863, when because of sickness he was mustered out by special order of Edwin M. Stanton, secretary of war. His regiment during his connection with it took part in the battles

of Antietam, Fredericksburgh, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburgh. It was at the close of the last named great struggle that he was taken seriously ill, and after long confinement was taken home where his order of release came.

The young man had always felt a liking for the banking business and on the recovery of his strength was offered a position of messenger in the First National Bank of Cleveland, where his brother, the late A. K. Spencer, was cashier. He accepted it, and on March 21, 1864, entered on the career in which he has met with such success. With a persistent determination to learn all there was to learn, and with a tireless energy, he so applied himself to his duties that promotion soon came as a natural reward of merit. He made no sudden upward jump, but won his way through the various stages to the position of assistant cashier, which place he filled for ten years. Believing that the growing business of Cleveland demanded more banking facilities than were then in existence, and that the move would be fully warranted by the result, he suggested the formation of the Cleveland National bank, and set himself earnestly at work to bring it into being. The result was its organization in May, 1883, and its opening for business on the twenty-eighth of the same month. Its success has been wonderful, and has fully justified the belief and faith that suggested and created it. On its formaOn its formation Mr. Spencer was chosen as a member of the board of directors, and elected to the important and responsible position of cashier. He gives his entire

time to the duties of that office, and is counted as one of the most diligent and careful members of his profession.

Mr. Spencer has also been active in many other directions, and has ever taken a keen and lively interest in public affairs. He has always been a pronounced Republican, and has been again and again elected to the city council by the Fourth ward, serving four terms and being now a member of that body. He was its president pro tem during 1884, and has served on all the important committees, being a member of those on claims, judiciary, finance, appropriations, legislation, and others. In his work for the city he has brought the shrewdness and training of a business man to bear on all public questions, and has been a valuable and useful member. His aim has been to give the city the same care and caution that a man would use in his private affairs, and at the same time administer affairs on a broad and progressive basis. In looking after matters of city finance he has been of special service, and while he is a thorough believer in the principles of the political party to which he belongs, he never allows party interest to stand. between him and public good. He is one of the trustees of the Homeopathic college, and has always taken a deep interest in the success of that institution. He is a Mason, takes pleasure in all matters relating to the Grand Army of the Republic, and is in all respects a progressive and public-spirited citizen. He possesses the confidence of the general public to a high degree, is honest and straight-forward in all business